


Out of Your Comfort Zone

by protectginozasquad



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Oisuga - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, and they were ROOMMATES, big yakusuga brotp, hi tag wranglers love ya, is this my third kurodai roommates fic?, oh my god they were roommates, yes it absolutely is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25516879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectginozasquad/pseuds/protectginozasquad
Summary: Suga, Yaku, Kuroo, and Daichi have all agreed to live together their second year of university. Suga and Yaku, for their part, are determined to get their pining friends together, so they hatch a plan.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Comments: 58
Kudos: 115





	1. Choose Your Friends Wisely

**Author's Note:**

> hi. my name's mom and i love kurodai

[To: Yaku]  
_This is a terrible idea._

[From: Yaku]  
_Are you kidding? This is the greatest idea I’ve ever had._

[To: Yaku]  
_Will it even work?_

[From: Yaku]  
_Listen, Kuroo’s got it so bad. And Daichi does too, right?_

[To: Yaku]  
_I want to drown myself listening to him talk about how Kuroo is obviously straight and obviously doesn’t like him.  
Yes, he’s got it bad._

[From: Yaku]  
_Exactly. He honestly thinks Kuroo’s straight? What an idiot. What they need is some good, quality time together. I promise I’ll be a good roomie._

[To: Yaku]  
_I’m not worried about that :) it’s probably good to separate me and Daichi anyway. I just hope he buys it._

[From: Yaku]  
_You know, we’ll just tell them something about getting out of our comfort zones, changing things up, blah blah blah._

It wasn’t that Suga was opposed to helping Daichi out. It’s not even like he was opposed to creating some mischief. But this was a little extreme. 

Suga, Daichi, Yaku, and Kuroo had all arranged to be roommates together as they started their second year of university. Everything seemed to fall into place: the place was cheaper than they thought, maybe a bit cramped, but they figured they’d manage to share rooms and do fine. Being that they had known each other for so long, it had long since been decided that Suga and Daichi would share a room, and Kuroo and Yaku would share the other. 

But there was an issue with their arrangement. It hadn’t taken Yaku and Suga long to compare notes and find out that their respective friends were completely head over heels for each other. If this wasn’t problematic enough, it seemed that neither one of them was willing to even consider the possibility that the other was interested. (“Don’t be ridiculous, Suga. Kuroo’s cool and confident and… then there’s me.”) (“You’re a moron, Yaku. There’s no way I’m Daichi’s type. I’m not responsible enough.”)

Suga and Yaku were at their wits’ end, and they hadn’t even moved in together yet. They were set to move in the next week, but Yaku and Suga had come up with a plot to get the morons to finally figure it out. They were going to switch rooms on everyone, so that Daichi and Kuroo had to share a room. 

[From: Yaku]  
_So get all your stuff moved into my room, and we’ll break the news to them tonight. I can’t wait to watch them squirm._

[To: Yaku]  
_You’re more devious than people give you credit for._

[From: Yaku]  
_You’re one to talk. Don’t you want to watch them sweat? It’s gonna be a trainwreck. But it’s gonna be awesome._

[To: Yaku]  
_I sure hope it works_

[From: Yaku]  
_We might have to be patient, but I think living in the same room will finally get one of them to crack. My money’s on Daichi. Kuroo’s a fucking moron. Why Daichi is so into him is beyond me._

[To: Yaku]  
_I don’t know. He’s so convinced it’s futile._

[From: Yaku]  
_God I hate them. Why did we agree to live with them again?_

[To: Yaku]  
_Beats me._

[From: Yaku]  
_So I’ll see you tonight?_

[To: Yaku]  
_Roger that._

Suga would have preferred to have someone help him move his things into the apartment, but the timing had to be right, and he knew if the rooms weren’t already set up, Daichi would find a way to weasel out of rooming with Kuroo. So Suga spent the rest of his morning at their new apartment, moving his possessions from his car into his room with Yaku. 

It was a nice apartment. Despite being a little small for four people, it had a generous living area and even a dishwasher. Suga grinned as he thought about the night ahead, and the help he had planned for his pining best friend. Maybe it wasn't a terrible idea, after all. 

+++ 

Daichi pulled his phone out as it pinged. 

[From: Suga]  
_Daichi! We got the go-ahead to move in!_

[To: Suga]  
_Oh really? That’s great!_

[From: Suga]  
_Yeah. I know you have work today, but the four of us should celebrate tonight, in the apartment!_

[To: Suga]  
_That sounds fun. Why don’t you see what Yaku and Kuroo are doing?_

[From: Suga]  
_Why don’t YOU see what Kuroo is doing? ;)_

[To: Suga]  
_Not this again._

Daichi frowned at his phone. He wished Suga would give it up. “It” being an attempt to get Daichi to make a move on Kuroo, his former rival and soon-to-be roommate. The first year of university had done nothing to quash the feelings Daichi had for the Nekoma captain, but when Yaku and Suga started talking about looking for an apartment with Kuroo and Daichi, Daichi’s heart had leapt in his chest. He’d said yes of course. He knew it was going to be hard, living with Kuroo. All the closeness that came with being roommates… Daichi was looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. 

[From: Suga]  
_C’mon. Don’t make me do all the work. I’ll hit up Yaku and you let Kuroo know. Does seven sound okay? At the apartment?_

[To: Suga]  
_Yeah, fine, whatever, I’ll text Kuroo. And seven is fine._

[From: Suga]  
_Great! See you then! :)_

Daichi sighed, navigating away from his conversation with Suga to open his conversation with Kuroo. 

[To: Kuroo]  
_So apparently we got the go-ahead to move in! Suga was thinking we should celebrate at the new apartment tonight._

[From: Kuroo]  
_That’s great. I’d love to._

[To: Kuroo]  
_Great! We were thinking around 7_

[From: Kuroo]  
_I’ll be there!_

Later that night, Daichi showed up at the apartment with a six pack and was greeted before he even knocked as the door swung in, revealing his bright-eyed best friend. 

“You’re here already?” 

“I’ve been here all day!” Suga replied brightly. 

“You didn’t tell me you were moving in yet,” Daichi said, a little annoyed. “I thought we were setting up tomorrow.” 

“Sorry, I was impatient. Oh!” Suga turned back to the door after hearing a knock. “Sounds like someone else is here!” 

Yaku and Kuroo arrived at the same time. 

“So I’m thinking we should order a pizza,” Daichi said as everyone came into the living room, cracking a beer open. They had to sit on the floor because they didn’t have any of their chairs or their couch moved in yet. 

“Sounds good to me,” Kuroo said amiably, picking up one of Daichi’s beers. 

“Okay, but before that,” Suga got a mischievous glint in his eyes. Daichi swallowed. He had a bad feeling about this. “We’ve gotta run something by you two. Well, not so much run it by you as let you know.” 

“What did you do?” Daichi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Did you piss off the neighbors already?” 

“No, no! Nothing like that,” Suga grinned. “So Yaku and I got our stuff moved in, and listen, don’t be mad, but we may have switched the rooms around a bit.” 

Daichi choked on his drink, barely able to notice that Kuroo had sloshed his beer all down the front of himself. 

“What?” He said croakily after he regained the ability to speak. 

“Well,” Suga said with a classic, shit-eating-yet-still-angelic smile plastered across his face. “We figured it was probably time to branch out on our relationships. You know, Daichi, we’ve been best friends for a long time, I thought it was only fair if I share you with Kuroo.” 

Suga had the fucking nerve to look at Kuroo and wink. Daichi wanted to strangle him. What the hell. What the hell. He’d trusted Suga with the knowledge about his crush on Kuroo (not that he could hide it from Suga if he tried), and Suga decided to betray him like this. He tried not to look furious, because he really didn’t want Kuroo to think that the idea of being literal roommates made him unhappy. Because that certainly was not the case. 

No, a part of him was positively elated. 

“Yeah,” Yaku jumped in. “We figured that second year in university is a good time to step out of our comfort zones. So don’t be mad. We just thought it could be fun to try something different.” 

Well, this certainly was outside of Daichi’s comfort zone. A million lightyears outside of his comfort zone. Just being in the same apartment as Kuroo was enough to set him on edge, but the same bedroom? Daichi wasn’t sure his fragile heart would be able to stand it. 

“I guess something different sounds fine,” Kuroo was the next to speak. Daichi flicked his eyes over to Kuroo. “Unless being close to me sounds so horrible that you can’t stand it,” he added with his usual sideways smirk. 

_Being close to you is all I want,_ Daichi’s brain supplied. 

“I guess I’ll manage,” he finally replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, because despite his horror, a small part of him was infinitely grateful to Suga. The rest of him was totally furious, but deep down, he couldn’t help but be glad about the chance to be closer to Kuroo. 

“Then it’s all decided!” Suga clapped his hands together joyfully. “Which is a relief, since I’m already all moved into Yakkun’s room.” 

“I told you not to call me that,” Yaku rolled his eyes. 

Even though Daichi’s chest was incredibly tight, he couldn’t help but be glad for their situation. 

“How about that pizza?” He asked, looking around at the other three. 

All of them nodded enthusiastically. They spent the rest of the evening drinking subpar beer and eating cheap pizza, deciding where their communal furniture would go and how chores would be divided up. 

Daichi continued to steal glances over at Kuroo the whole evening. Once in a while, Kuroo would catch him and grin, and Daichi would look away quickly. He wouldn’t say it was going smoothly, but Daichi supposed he was doing the best he could. They would be moving in the next day, and that’s when the challenge would really start. 

+++ 

The next day, Daichi and Kuroo were moving their things into the room at the same time. They set up their beds on opposite sides of the room, Daichi claiming the window side of the room. They agreed they’d have to share the closet. 

“The room isn’t that small,” Daichi commented as he unloaded his textbooks onto their one shared bookshelf (which probably wouldn’t be big enough for all their books, but Daichi certainly wasn’t going to complain about sharing something with Kuroo). 

“No, the furniture all fits pretty well,” Kuroo replied. 

Daichi snorted. 

“What furniture? You don’t even have a bedframe.” 

Kuroo stuck out his bottom lip, pouting impressively. 

“Sawamura, I’m sleeping on the floor and you have to rub it in my face? That’s cruel.” 

Kuroo hadn’t acquired much furniture over the summer. He had a mattress but no bed frame, a dresser, and was currently using an upside down cardboard box as a side table, which held his one lamp. He did have a mini fridge. This was apparently his one “furniture” purchase his entire first year of university, which Daichi didn’t really understand. Sure, the dorm rooms came furnished, but Daichi had gotten at least a few things to supplement the sparse dorm furniture. Not Kuroo. 

“You’re the one who said you can sleep anywhere,” Daichi said with a shrug. “But we can go look for a bed frame for you if you want,” he added. 

“So helpful. So responsible. So kind. Does this mean you’re going to keep the room clean, too?” Kuroo asked playfully. 

Daichi rolled his eyes. 

“I will keep my half of the room clean,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And you will keep yours clean too.” 

“You’re a slavedriver, Sa’amura,” Kuroo said, and Daichi felt his ears turn red. 

“I mean, Yaku was supposed to be in charge of your mess,” Daichi said noncommittally. He was trying to figure out how Kuroo felt about the whole situation. 

“Hm, I suppose he was. Maybe he wanted to pawn me off on you,” Kuroo said. 

“What’s with them, anyway?” Daichi asked. “Changing things up on us.” 

“Yeah, they could have asked us first,” Kuroo nodded. 

“Assholes,” Daichi said darkly. He noticed an expression he couldn’t quite place flit across Kuroo’s face. “Not that I mind!” Daichi added quickly, wondering if Kuroo was offended at Daichi’s reaction to the news. 

“Oh, yeah,” Kuroo responded neutrally. He didn’t seem offended. “Me either. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Yaku’s obnoxious anyway.” 

“And we’re all living in the same apartment.” 

“So it doesn’t matter, right?” Kuroo asked. 

“No, I guess not,” Daichi said, trying to ignore the disappointment in his chest at Kuroo’s statement. So it didn’t matter much to Kuroo. That was fine. Daichi could deal with that. He was used to his one-sided feelings by now. 

Moving in took most of the day. Yaku and Suga were in and out, making lists of what the apartment needed and dropping off groceries. Daichi got the feeling Suga was leaving him and Kuroo alone on purpose, which he resented. He didn’t mind the alone time with Kuroo, but he hated it when Suga meddled. 

The moment Daichi knew he wasn’t going to make it through this ordeal was that night, when Kuroo decided to start changing without warning. 

“Sorry,” Kuroo said when he caught Daichi looking. Daichi almost jumped two feet in the air, horrified at being caught. “I hope you don’t, uh, mind-” 

“It’s your room too! It’s fine!” Daichi said quickly, turning away from Kuroo to continue putting his clothes in his dresser. He had already changed into his pajamas (he’d used the bathroom like a normal person). He promptly slipped into bed and pulled out his phone. He needed to take out his angst on someone, and he couldn’t very well barge into Yaku and Suga’s room and yell about Suga’s meddling. He had to keep it all very under wraps so Kuroo didn’t find out about his feelings. 

[To: Suga]  
_You know what? You’re a monster._

[From: Suga]  
_I don’t know what you’re talking about. (It was Yaku’s idea.)_

[To: Suga]  
_I don’t care whose idea it was! I’m not going to survive! He just started changing IN FRONT OF ME_

[From: Suga]  
_Lucky you ;)_

[To: Suga]  
_SUGA_

[From: Suga]  
_Dear sweet Daichi, you are strong and will prevail in this trial  
Maybe you’ll even tell him how you feel_

[To: Suga]  
_NO_

“You okay over there, Sawamura?” 

Daichi almost dropped his phone on his face as Kuroo’s voice pulled him from his feelings of betrayal at Suga. Kuroo was looking up at him from his mattress on the floor, laying on one side. He’d obviously been flipping through his phone before talking to Daichi. 

“Huh?” Daichi said stupidly, unsure how to react. 

“You look a little distressed over there. Is it love troubles?” Kuroo waggled an eyebrow and Daichi felt blood rush to his cheeks. 

“Of course not!” He yelped. He certainly didn’t want to tell Kuroo he’d been texting with Suga, who was in the next bedroom, bemoaning this new hell that was living in the same damn room as Kuroo Tetsurou. 

“Of course not?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow. “C’mon, Sa’amura. You might be having romance problems and need my advice. A good looking guy like you is sure to have some prospects. Are the girls fighting over you?” 

Oh great. Their first night as roommates, Daichi was going to have to tell Kuroo that girls weren’t exactly his thing. What a wonderful way to start off this roomie relationship. (He had not missed the fact that Kuroo called him good looking, which threatened to send his blood pressure through the roof.) 

“Ah,” Daichi sat up on his bed, scratching the back of his neck. “No. No girls.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” Kuroo sounded unconvinced. 

“Girls aren’t exactly, um, you know,” Daichi found himself fiddling with his fingers, looking away from Kuroo. “My thing. If you, um, know what I mean.” He spared a glance up at Kuroo, expecting to find surprise, maybe a little bit of distaste. Instead, Kuroo was looking at him softly. 

“Well why didn’t you say so earlier?” 

Daichi was a little taken aback. “What?” He asked, a quizzical look on his face. 

Kuroo smiled, though he almost looked a little sad, Daichi thought. 

“I thought we were friends. I didn’t know you were gay.” 

Kuroo didn’t know because it had never really come up. Because Daichi had spent all of the time since he met the Nekoma captain infatuated with him such that he never went on any other dates or considered anyone else. He knew he ought to try and move on, but something about Kuroo just kept him stuck. 

“Uh,” Daichi said. “Yeah. I’m gay.” 

“Neat.” 

It was Daichi’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Neat?” He wanted to know what, exactly, Kuroo found so ‘neat’ about his sexuality. 

“I mean, it’s cool. I’m bi so it’s, you know, whatever.” 

Daichi’s heart did a backflip at this newfound knowledge. 

“Oh,” he said, maybe a little squeaky. “That’s cool.” 

Kuroo shrugged. 

“You can trust me, you know. I mean, you’re going to have to. We’re roommates now.” 

“I know that,” Daichi said quietly. “Of course I know that.” 

“Well, it’s not lady problems. Boy problems? This is even juicer.” 

“No. No romance problems,” Daichi insisted, stowing his phone away. 

“Fine. You wanna be all mysterious, go ahead,” Kuroo said good-naturedly, waving Daichi off. 

“I’m not being mysterious,” Daichi whined. “You’re being nosy. Are you always like this?” 

“Just trying to be a good friend to my roomie, that’s all,” Kuroo said with a shrug. 

“Always this kind?” Daichi said with a smile. 

Kuroo smiled back at him. “Always.” He laid back down on his bed. “Well, since you don’t feel like sharing with the class, I’m going to sleep.” He flicked the lamp on his bedside table off. “Night, Sawamura.” 

The domesticity of the moment was not lost on Daichi, but he tried to ignore it. Daichi laid down too. Sleep sounded like a good idea. Maybe when he woke up, all of this will just have been a cruel nightmare. 

“Night, Kuroo.” 

_So it doesn’t matter, right?_

The arrangement didn’t mean anything special to Kuroo. But the new knowledge that Kuroo was interested in guys had lit a fire inside Daichi. Until now, he’d only seen Kuroo go on dates with women, so he’d assumed Kuroo was straight, which made his crush seem impossibly futile. Now he was actually able to imagine what it would be like to have Kuroo like him, especially now that they closely shared a living space. He turned over in his bed to face the wall and bit his bottom lip. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to put Kuroo out of his mind, which was a little hard since Kuroo had promptly fallen asleep and started snoring, just a little. 

Daichi wondered how it was even possible for someone’s snores to be cute, but Kuroo’s were. 

Daichi had it bad. He pulled his blanket up over his head and sighed. It was going to be a long year.


	2. Parental Supervision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [To: Kenma]  
>  _YAKU TOLD YOU?_
> 
> [From: Kenma]  
>  _He wanted to know if I thought it would help_
> 
> [To: Kenma]  
>  _And you told him to fuck off?_
> 
> [From: Kenma]  
>  _Actually I told him that it was one of his better ideas_
> 
> [To: Kenma]  
>  _KENMA NO_
> 
> [From: Kenma]  
>  _Kenma yes_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time for a little kuroo pov ;) 
> 
> btw [tumblr](https://kageyamas-mom.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/dailydaichi)

Kuroo woke early. Much earlier than usual. Maybe it was because he was trying to get in the habit of getting up early for school, but who was he kidding? It was because Sawamura Daichi was sleeping in the same room as he was, across from him. He rolled over on his side quietly, sneaking a glance over at his new roommate, whose face was almost completely covered by a blanket. 

He had to talk to someone. Yaku was out of the question. If he had the nerve to hatch a plan like this, then no advice he had would be helpful. He thought Kenma was probably a better place to start. 

[To: Kenma]  
_I’m going to murder Yaku in his sleep_

[From: Kenma]  
_You woke me up to tell me that?  
Is this about the Sawamura thing_

[To: Kenma]  
_What Sawamura thing?!?!?!_

[From: Kenma]  
_The your feelings for him thing.  
Oh and living in the same room as him_

[To: Kenma]  
_YAKU TOLD YOU?_

[From: Kenma]  
_He wanted to know if I thought it would help_

[To: Kenma]  
_And you told him to fuck off?_

[From: Kenma]  
_Actually I told him that it was one of his better ideas_

[To: Kenma]  
_KENMA NO_

[From: Kenma]  
_Kenma yes_

[To: Kenma]  
_I can’t believe you’ve betrayed me like this_

[From: Kenma]  
_Grow up  
Tell Sawamura how you feel  
I’m tired of listening to you_

[To: Kenma]  
_It’s your sworn duty as my childhood best friend to listen to me suffer_

[From: Kenma]  
_No it’s not_

[To: Kenma]  
_Well you’re going to listen anyway  
So listen_

[From: Kenma]  
…

[To: Kenma]  
_Did you know Sawamura’s gay?_

[From: Kenma]  
_I’m not even going to dignify that with a response_

Kuroo blinked at his phone. Kenma knew? 

[To: Kenma]  
_WHAT_

[From: Kenma]  
_I wouldn’t insist that he’s interested in you if he was straight_

[To: Kenma]  
_HE’S NOT INTERESTED IN ME_

[To: Kenma]  
_Kenma?_

[From: Kenma]  
_This has been quite enough of your antics for one morning.  
Good luck, dummy.  
I’m going back to sleep_

Just then, Sawamura stirred. He stretched his arms up overhead and yawned loudly. Kuroo watched in fascination as he emerged from his blankets, blinking rapidly as though not quite sure where he was for a moment. His eyes found Kuroo and he looked like he might have been surprised to see him if he wasn’t so sleepy. 

“Morning,” Sawamura finally said through a yawn. 

“Morning,” Kuroo replied, trying for a level tone. He had already been sure that this arrangement was going to destroy him, but it was confirmed as he looked over at Sawamura’s soft, sleepy morning face. Sawamura rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands and Kuroo thought he might spontaneously combust, it was so adorable. 

“Wonder if Suga brought his coffeepot,” Sawamura murmured quietly. 

Kuroo remembered seeing a coffeepot on the kitchen counter. It was currently their only appliance besides the dishwasher. Yaku was supposed to bring a microwave, but Kuroo hadn’t seen it yet. 

“I think he did,” Kuroo said gently, pulling his blankets off of himself and clambering up from the ground. 

“That’s good,” Sawamura said thickly, still dabbing at his sleepy eyes. 

“I’ll go get it started,” Kuroo said, desperate to get out of their room and away from the honest, genuine face. He darted for the door and barely heard a quiet “thanks” from Sawamura as he closed their door. 

But there was no need for Kuroo to make coffee, as Yaku was already sitting on the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of his own. 

“Coffee?” Yaku asked innocently. 

“I think Sawamura needs some,” Kuroo said quietly, flushing when one of Yaku’s eyebrows rose so high it almost disappeared into his hairline. 

“Ah,” Yaku’s innocent expression transformed quickly into a knowing smirk. “Of course he does. How does he like it?” 

“Black,” Kuroo muttered, looking away from Yaku. 

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Yaku said, still smirking as he reached for the coffeepot, pulling a mug seemingly out of thin air. 

“Shut up,” Kuroo barked as he heard their bedroom door opening. “Which reminds me, how dare you-” 

Yaku put a finger on his lips, and Kuroo’s protest died in his throat as Sawamura ambled into the kitchen with another yawn. 

“Would’ve pegged you for a morning person,” Kuroo said noncommittally, taking the cup of black coffee from Yaku (who was still smirking, the bastard) and handing it to his roommate. 

“I do like to get an early start usually,” Sawamura said, blowing on the coffee to cool it down. “But I’m pretty sleepy in the mornings. Coffee helps. Thanks,” he smiled at Kuroo and Kuroo felt his heart jump into his throat. Yaku snorted from behind him and he thought momentarily about elbowing his traitorous friend, but that would probably make Sawamura suspicious, so he decided against it. 

“You’re welcome,” Kuroo said after a moment of silence. 

Sawamura set his coffee down on the counter and opened their fridge, groaning in disappointment. 

“Why didn’t we go grocery shopping yesterday?” 

“We were a little busy moving,” Yaku said, sounding amused. “I have some granola bars if you want.” 

Sawamura waved him off. 

“It’s fine. I’ll go get us some basics from the store.” 

“I’d offer to come, but I’ve got to go pick up the microwave and a few other things from my parents this morning,” Yaku said with a shrug. 

“Thanks, I’m sure I’ll manage.” 

“You should take Kuroo with you,” Yaku said without missing a beat. Kuroo glanced over at him, trying for a mild glare. “He might not look it, but he’s pretty observant and knows how to cook.” 

Sawamura grinned as he fixed his eyes on Kuroo, eyebrows raised. 

“You? Cook?” 

Kuroo hurriedly turned to the cabinet and opened it, looking around for a mug as he tried to avoid Sawamura’s gaze. It was suffocating to have those eyes fixed on him. Finding an absence of dishes, he remembered that he, like Yaku, was supposed to grab some things from his parents’ house today. 

“Ah,” he scratched the back of his neck, turning around and looking at Sawamura. “Yeah, I cook.” 

“It’s a shock, I know,” Yaku hopped off the counter and clapped Kuroo on the back. “But he’s a real house cat.” 

“I don’t even know what that means and I’m offended,” Kuroo said airily. 

“It means with your scruffy looks no one would ever guess you could be civilized,” Yaku said matter-of-factly as he headed back to his and Suga’s room. “Take him, Sawamura.” 

“I guess it’s decided then,” Sawamura said with a sigh as he watched Yaku leave the kitchen. “Unless you don’t feel like it-” 

“It’s great!” Kuroo blurted loudly. Sawamura looked confused. “I mean, I wanted to go grocery shopping too.” 

“Oh,” Sawamura blinked at him. “Well good then. I’ll get ready and then we can go?” 

“Sure.” 

“I can drive,” Sawamura said after he emerged from their room, looking ready for the day. “Since Yaku probably took your car.” 

“Yeah he did,” Kuroo said, following Sawamura out of the apartment. They were on the first floor. Unfortunately, they only got one parking space for the four of them, but Yaku and Kuroo had agreed to share a car. There was generous street parking so it wasn’t too much of a pain. The apartment complex was full of college students, although it hadn’t been known as a real party place, which is one of the reasons they’d decided on it. None of them were particularly keen on parties (though Kuroo attended some of Bokuto’s out of a sense of duty), and all wanted to make sure they had a solid place to live where they could get homework done. 

“Do you know what the best grocery store near here is?” Sawamura asked as they got in the car. “I know all the ones right by campus but I didn’t know if there was something more convenient closer to us.” 

Kuroo had chosen to stay in Tokyo for school, something he did so he didn’t go too far from his father. Kuroo didn’t want to admit it, but the idea of leaving Tokyo for school would have been too hard for him to stomach. His dad never complained about being lonely, but Kuroo knew it would be hard once he was gone from the house. So he figured staying in town for school was the least he could do. 

Kai decided to go off elsewhere for school, but Yaku wanted to go to the University of Tokyo too. It relieved Kuroo a little bit to know he’d have a familiar face around campus. He couldn’t have been more surprised to learn that Sawamura and Sugawara had both decided to come to Tokyo for school, and Kuroo tried to ignore the swooping feeling in his stomach when he had found out. Seeing Sawamura on the other side of the court and admiring him from afar was one thing, but going to school together? 

He had tried to tell himself it would be okay, they probably wouldn’t have a lot of overlap anyway. 

He mulled all this over as he sat next to Sawamura in his car, getting ready to go do one of the most domestic activities he could think of. So much for admiring from afar. 

“Anybody home?” Sawamura snapped his fingers in front of Kuroo’s face, startling him. 

“Oh, sorry, I guess I spaced out.” 

“Everything okay?” Sawamura glanced at him inquisitively. 

“Yeah! Everything’s fine! I’m just thoughtful in the morning,” Kuroo tried. “I guess,” he added lamely. 

“I’ll just go to the grocery store by campus,” Sawamura said, shifting the car into reverse and backing out of their one parking spot. Sawamura had tried to turn it down, but as he was the only one with a job and drove the most, everyone insisted that he take it. 

“No, there’s one close by actually,” Kuroo pulled out his phone. “I can direct you.” 

When they arrived at the grocery store, Sawamura walked straight in and grabbed a cart. 

“Okay, so basics. I guess we never really talked about how we would split up groceries, but we should get some basic stuff like milk, eggs, and bread.” 

“We probably need some hand soap and sponges and stuff too,” Kuroo suggested. 

Sawamura grinned at him. “So Yaku was right. You are house-trained.” 

Kuroo felt himself pout. 

“Sawamura, you wound me! You think I don’t know how to exist as an adult?” 

“I mean, you and Bokuto set off the fire alarm because you set a poptart on fire last year.” 

“That was totally Bokuto’s fault!” Kuroo protested, remembering the incident very well. “I told him to microwave it but he insisted it wouldn’t be properly toasty that way.” 

“So he put in a pan. And tried to stir fry it,” Sawamura said, looking amused. “You could have stopped him.” 

“Excuse me, have you ever tried to stop Bokuto Kotarou from doing something he wants to do?” Kuroo crossed his arms over his chest. 

Sawamura laughed, low and rumbling, and Kuroo felt his stomach flip. He could listen to that sound forever and never get tired of it. 

“No, I can’t say I have.” 

“I should not be faulted for his mistakes is all I’m saying,” Kuroo said as they made their way down the aisles. He picked some sponges and soap off a shelf and threw them in the cart. “I’ll pay for the house stuff, and you can get the groceries. Sound fair?” 

“We’ll have to decide how we want to divy things up,” Sawamura said. “But I can get these, yeah.” 

They perused the aisles and got some basic things they thought they’d need. Sawamura picked up some of Suga’s favorite cereal, which Kuroo thought was sweet of him. For a while, Kuroo had gone through a great deal of jealousy over Sawamura’s relationship with Suga. He was mostly over it (or at least that’s what he was telling himself), and really tried to see everything as a kind gesture to a best friend. Kuroo had Kenma, after all, so he really had no right to be jealous. He thought briefly about how he didn’t know what Kenma’s favorite cereal was and resolved to ask him about it later. 

“No cereal for you?” 

“Oh,” Sawamura went a bit pink. Kuroo’s heart did a painful twist. “No, I really only like the sugary stuff so I don’t get it that often.” 

Kuroo felt himself raise an eyebrow. “You look embarrassed, Sawamura,” he said playfully. “Are you embarrassed that I know something that makes you look childish? You’re so upstanding and responsible, no one would ever take you for a sugary cereal guy.” 

Sawamura frowned, but it looked insincere. 

“Just don’t go around telling everyone,” he muttered. 

“It’s a funny thing to be embarrassed about, but I can keep your secret,” Kuroo winked at him, hoping his expression was staying in the friendly rather than flirty category. He surveyed the cart. “What else do we need?” 

“I got some vegetables and a little meat. Some rice and pasta too. I think this will do for now. Suga and Yaku can go out and get more later if they want.” 

“Great!” Kuroo directed them towards the checkout. 

They drove back to the apartment complex and loaded everything into the apartment. Kuroo put the various household products in their proper places while Sawamura organized the refrigerator. 

“Seems Yaku’s not back yet,” Kuroo commented. 

“Yeah, Suga’s gone too,” Sawamura called with his head in the fridge. 

“You didn’t get breakfast and now it’s almost lunch,” Kuroo said. “I know some good places around here if you want to grab something.” 

“I’m meeting Suga for lunch,” Sawamura smiled apologetically at Kuroo as he pulled himself out of the now very neat and organized refrigerator. 

“No problem,” Kuroo tried for a smile, actually a little relieved to have a break from this one-on-one time with Sawamura. It was a lot for his heart to handle. 

“I think everything’s in its place, although if you guys want to reorganize everything later, it’s no big deal.” 

“Sawamura, you’re probably the best man for the organization job. I trust your judgment.” 

“Oh,” Sawamura blinked at him, a little surprised. “Thanks, I guess.” 

Kuroo swallowed. The bashful face was just too much. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. 

“Well,” Sawamura looked at his watch. “I better go meet Suga. But I’ll see you later, okay?” 

“Okay,” Kuroo said softly, wondering if he looked as stupid as he felt as he stood with Sawamura, alone in their kitchen. 

“See you,” Sawamura said as he headed for the door after giving Kuroo a small smile. 

“See you,” Kuroo repeated, waving as the door closed behind Sawamura. 

+++ 

“And then he just winked at me!” Daichi groaned. “I told you, I’m not going to survive!” Daichi glared at Suga as he took a bite of his noodles probably more forcefully than was necessary. 

“You will survive,” Suga said brightly. “I think this is great.” 

“Of course you do. It was your idea!” 

“It was Yaku’s idea,” Suga corrected him. “I’ve been telling you that Kuroo has it bad for you for months. He’s obviously flirting with you. Why won’t you just believe me?” 

“Suga,” Daichi sighed. “We’ve had this conversation a hundred times. Kuroo’s confident and cool and generally awesome and I’m, well, I’m me.” 

“Uh huh. My boring, plain best friend,” Suga rolled his eyes. “You know I wouldn’t hang around with you if you were boring and plain. Also, you left out the part where you think he’s straight too.” 

Daichi flushed. 

“Oh,” he said quietly, looking down at his food and avoiding eye contact with Suga. “Yeah. Yeah, I was wrong about that. He’s… bi, apparently.” 

Even without looking straight at him, Daichi could see in his periphery the grin that crossed Suga’s face. 

“I knew it! This is great news!” 

“Are you kidding?” Daichi asked incredulously, looking up. “It’s horrible! He was off-limits before and I could deal with that. But now…” 

“Now you just can’t help but imagine what it would be like to have the long, lean body wrapped around you?” 

“Suga!” Daichi yelped, cheeks flooded with color. 

“What?” Suga asked innocently, slurping a noodle. 

“D-don’t say stuff like that!” 

“Why not?” Suga tilted his head to one side. “You’re never going to make a move if I don’t fill your head with obscene images of what that smirking mouth is probably capable of doing to your-” 

“STOP IT!” Daichi screeched so loudly that several people in the ramen restaurant turned to look at them. 

“You’re making a scene,” Suga said with a shrug. “That’s not very like you.” 

Daichi wasn’t sure he could get any more red. 

“I said it once and I’ll say it again. You’re a monster,” Daichi pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling loudly. 

“Guilty as charged!” Suga said with a smile as he finished his bowl of soup. “But you know, you two really need to just make out and put us all out of our misery.” 

Daichi choked on his soup. 

“I’m not making out with my roommate.” 

“Because you don’t want to?” 

“I’m done with this conversation.” 

“But-” 

“I’ll leave you here with the bill if you don’t pick something else to talk about,” Daichi said, wagging his chopsticks at Suga. Suga sighed. 

“Fine. Tell me about your schedule.” 

“It’s a pretty good schedule this semester. I have a 9am start time Monday through Thursday and I have Fridays off completely.” 

“Oooh, I’m jealous,” Suga said. “I have an 8am on Tuesday and Thursday. But I don’t start until 10 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” 

Daichi sighed. 

“We start on Monday,” he said absently. “It’s going to be a good year, don’t you think?” 

“Hm,” Suga hummed, sipping up the last of his soup. “In many ways, I think so. Especially for you.” He wagged an eyebrow. 

“We’re not talking about Kuroo again,” Daichi rolled his eyes. 

“Oh come on!” Suga threw his hands up. 

“Are you still thinking about elementary education track?” Daichi asked, ignoring Suga’s outburst. 

Suga’s eyes narrowed before he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Yeah, I think so,” he said after a pause. “I’ve always liked kids.” 

“You’re good with them,” Daichi said with a small smile. “I think it’s great for you.” 

“What about you? Still thinking about criminal justice or pre-law?” 

“Yeah,” Daichi slurped up his last noodle. “I mean, I never assumed I’m cut out for something like law school, but I’m still kind of drawn to it, you know?” 

“Of course you could be cut out for law school if that’s what you want,” Suga said, expression softening. 

“Maybe,” Daichi shrugged. “Still got quite a few general classes to get out of the way before we jump into our majors.” 

“I had an idea!” Suga said, changing the subject. “I think we should all print out our schedules and put them on the fridge. So we know who’s busy when. And we can put Yaku’s practice and game schedule up.” 

Of the four of them, Yaku was the only one who continued playing volleyball after high school. He was the University of Tokyo’s second-string libero. He had been promised playing time even though he wasn’t a starter, so he’d accepted the offer. He’d said he’d prove himself and earn a starting spot, something Daichi admired. 

“Or we could just get one calendar and color code it,” Daichi said. 

“Ah, that’s a much better idea. See, this is why I keep you around.” 

“Because of my organizational skills?” Daichi put his head in his hands. “See? I’m so boring. And plain.” 

“You’re not boring or plain,” Suga rolled his eyes. “Although I do appreciate your organizational skills. You’re definitely going to keep the household together.” 

“It’s a household now?” Daichi asked. 

“Of course. We’re a family. You and Kuroo are married, obviously. And Yaku and I are like your children. Oh please, do take care of us, daddy Daichi,” Suga clasped his hands in front of him and pouted convincingly. 

“Don’t ever call me that again,” Daichi said seriously. “Kuroo and I are not married. Don’t you dare make that a thing.” 

“Hm,” was all Suga had to say. Daichi glared at him again. 

“Anyway,” Daichi said. “We never did discuss how we wanted to divide up chores and groceries and cooking and stuff. I was thinking we could all sit down to talk about it tonight.” 

“Oooh! Like a family meeting! See, you’re the perfect father.” 

“Oi,” Daichi barked. 

“I’ll text everyone to make sure we can have your family meeting tonight,” Suga said without missing a beat, pulling his phone out. Soon Daichi’s phone chirped as Suga had texted their house group chat. 

[From: Suga]  
_Hey everyone! Daichi has called a family meeting to discuss our living arrangements. You know, chores and groceries and stuff. Because he’s so responsible. So be home tonight after dinner!_

“Then we can break it to Kuroo that he’s your husband.” 

“He’s not my husband!” Daichi yelped, and everyone in the restaurant turned to stare at them again. 

Suga, the monster that he was, giggled at Daichi’s distress. 

+++ 

Daichi really should have expected the meeting to be as much of a disaster as it was. He was seriously considering disowning Suga as a best friend. 

Suga and Yaku were sitting on the couch together, while Daichi and Kuroo each sat in a shabby armchair, both of which had come from Kuroo’s family. Suga was busy explaining his understanding of their household dynamics. Daichi was thinking about strangling him, right then and there. 

“Daichi and Kuroo are the dads, and Yaku and I are the helpless children in this household,” Suga said brightly, looking over at Yaku who nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yes, totally helpless,” Yaku agreed. “Oh please, Sawamura, save us!” 

Daichi hadn’t spared enough thought earlier to wonder exactly why Yaku was so interested in this plot of Suga’s (because no matter what Suga said, Daichi was sure he was to blame for this whole situation) but he was starting to get the feeling that Yaku and Suga both lived in some kind of fantasy world. The kind of world where someone as cool and awesome as Kuroo Tetsurou would even consider looking twice at someone as boring and drab as Sawamura Daichi.

“You’re only our kids because you’re so short,” Kuroo said with an amused smirk as he looked over at Yaku. Daichi tried not to notice the way Kuroo hadn’t even blinked at the suggestion that they were married. _Don’t get any funny ideas,_ he told himself. _It’s just a stupid joke._

“What the fuck did you just say?” Yaku hopped up from his place on the couch, looking ready for a fight. 

“Now, now,” Daichi said placatingly. “Let’s not ruin our first week with a fight.” 

“Thanks, dad,” Suga said with a knowing grin. 

“I am not your dad!” Daichi said in exasperation. “I really just wanted to talk about chores and groceries.” 

“Fine, fine,” Kuroo said, and Yaku sat back down, crossing his arms over his chest and looking thoroughly offended. “You really know how to keep us together, Sawamura.” 

Daichi cleared his throat, flushing slightly at the compliment. 

“Right. So. Chores. I was thinking we could keep a schedule so no one’s stuck doing the same chores all the time. Same for groceries. We could rotate who gets what, unless you guys want to do the whole everyone-has-their-own-food thing.” 

“No, I think a schedule makes sense,” Yaku nodded. 

“Oh, oh! And I was thinking,” Suga said. “Once we compare our class schedules, if there’s a night we’re all free, we should have a family dinner like once a week!” 

“How adorable,” Kuroo smirked. “I like it.” 

“I think everyone should be responsible for washing their own dishes and doing their own laundry,” Daichi said, steering away from more of this “family” talk. 

“That makes sense,” Yaku said. “No one wants to handle my volleyball clothes anyway.” 

“No way!” Kuroo yelped. “Keep that shit away from me.” 

“Oh, so you think I’m stinky?” 

“In fact I do!” 

“Guys,” Daichi pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Sorry,” Yaku and Kuroo said in unison. 

“I’ll make a list of the household chores and we can decide how to divide them up. I’ll get a chores calendar and a schedule calendar.” 

“So organized, Sawamura,” Kuroo said with a grin. “Are you sure you don’t want to do everything for us?” 

“Absolutely not,” Daichi said with a resolute glare at Kuroo, whose playful smirk shrivelled up. “We do it together.” 

“Fine, dad,” Suga said. 

“Ugh,” Daichi whined, burying his face under the decorative pillow on his armchair. “I’m not your dad.” 

“You are,” Suga quipped lightly. “But at least you’re not alone. You have Kuroo for emotional support as your faithful spouse, obviously. And your two wonderful children, me and Yaku.” 

Daichi was glad he had decided to hide under a pillow, because he felt his entire face light up. 

If he had been looking, he might have caught the way Kuroo’s ears burned bright red, but he was too busy hiding to catch it.


	3. Let's Be Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo and Daichi have their usual lunch date and clear the air on a few things. Bokuto throws a beginning-of-term party, and Kuroo is horrified to discover he has some competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for ur patience w me! i had a GIANT family emergency. the last few weeks have been really rough and uncertain. (my mom had three brain aneurysms and had to have emergency brain surgery and then was super cognitively impaired for a while after the surgery and it was very stressful) it was really nice to come back to these nerds and get to spend some energy on something FUN instead of hospitals and prognoses and stuff. anyway, you all are the best so thanks for being here!

Before Daichi could blink, school had started and life became a hectic mess. 

Between his classes, his part-time pizza delivery job, and figuring out how to live in his new place (as Kuroo Tetsurou’s roommate), he felt like he didn’t have time to breathe. Daichi was currently trying to take what respite he could as he laid on their couch in the living room, waiting for Kuroo to finish up making lunch. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out. 

[From: Suga]  
_Are you sure you don’t want to meet up for lunch? My class got cancelled._

[To: Suga]  
_Raincheck? I’m back at the apartment, so I’m not on campus_

[From: Suga]  
_Oh. I forgot. It’s lunch date day._

[To: Suga]  
_It’s not a date!_

[From: Suga]  
_You and Kuroo have a designated day that you eat lunch together every week. What else would you call it?_

[To: Suga]  
_We just have a break at the same time, it’s not that weird!_

[From: Suga]  
_I never said it was weird, I just said it was a date_

[To: Suga]  
_In your dreams_

[From: Suga]  
_More like in YOUR dreams, right?_

[To: Suga]  
_I’m done with this conversation_

He stowed his phone away, ignoring the vibration that buzzed in his pocket indicating that Suga, for his part, was not done with their conversation. It wasn’t that weird, Daichi had been insisting to Suga for weeks. 

“Yo, Sawamura, it’s done.” 

Daichi hopped up from the couch and grabbed a plate, filling it with the stir-fried noodles, meat, and vegetables Kuroo had thrown together. 

“The house cat comes through again,” Daichi said playfully as he smelled his food. “It smells great. Thanks so much.” 

“I tell you every week, I’d cook anyway, so it’s not a big deal.” 

_Yeah, Suga,_ Daichi thought bitterly. _It’s not a big deal. It’s not a date._

“Well, I’m still grateful.” 

“You and your endless stomach.” 

“Hey!” Daichi tried to look offended. 

“What? It’s true,” Kuroo smirked as they sat back down on the couch and started eating at the coffee table. It was their usual routine. Daichi had to admit, he could definitely get used to this. And these weekly lunches definitely made his heart squirm and do funny things, but that certainly wasn’t going to stop him from taking Kuroo up on his offer every week. 

“I guess,” Daichi said as he shoveled a forkful of food into his face. “Mm, excellent as always. Where’d you learn to cook, anyway?” 

“My dad,” Kuroo answered easily, slurping a noodle. “I think he wanted to make sure I could fend for myself, and he wanted to make sure I still felt like a normal kid, even though my mom wasn’t around. I don’t know if he taught himself, or what, but he’s the best cook I know.” 

Daichi stole a glance over at Kuroo. It was the first time he’d ever heard him mention his family. 

“I didn’t know about your mom,” he said softly, feeling like he had intruded upon something he shouldn’t have. 

Kuroo shrugged, not looking bothered. 

“It’s not a big deal or anything,” he repeated what he’d said earlier. “Just how it is, I guess.” 

“You never see her?” 

“Hm, not never. But not often.” 

Kuroo didn’t offer anything more after that, so Daichi decided to steer clear of the topic for now. 

“I heard Bokuto’s throwing a beginning-of-school party,” Daichi said. “I’m sure you’ve heard about it.” 

“Where’d you hear that?” Kuroo quirked an eyebrow. 

“Oikawa invited Suga,” Daichi said, a little darkly. 

“Why do you sound so upset about that, Sawamura? Jealous that pretty boy is going to steal Suga away from you?” 

“No!” Daichi yelped, cheeks coloring. He hoped Kuroo didn’t think anything was going on between him and Suga. Kuroo’s eyebrow stayed raised. “I don’t trust him,” Daichi said quietly. 

“So it _is_ about Suga.” 

“I’m… protective of him.” 

“Ohoho? Daddy Daichi is protective of wittle Sugawara. How adorable.” 

“Don’t call me that!” Daichi said, finding his voice a few octaves higher than normal. 

“Why not?” 

“B-because!” 

“Huh,” Kuroo turned back to his food. “Solid reasoning you got there. Superb thinking. ‘Because.’ I guess I’ll just have to listen to you.” Kuroo paused, flicking his eyes over to Daichi. “Daddy.” 

“Kuroo!” Daichi yelped, sure he was red as a tomato. 

“Alright, alright,” Kuroo waved a hand. “I’ll lay off. But, really, Suga and Oikawa? Is something going on with them?” 

“I don’t know,” Daichi admitted. “Suga hasn’t mentioned anything. I guess I’ll ask him.” 

“You don’t have to look so glum, Sawamura,” Kuroo elbowed Daichi. “Suga’s got good taste. He’ll see Oikawa is far inferior to you.” 

Daichi almost choked on his noodles. 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“You don’t want Suga to go out with Oikawa because you want to go out with him, right?” 

Daichi felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. 

“Gross!” He yelped loudly. “No!” 

“Suga’s not gross,” Kuroo pointed out. 

“Suga’s my best friend,” Daichi said loudly as though this explained things. Kuroo just looked at him in confusion. “What, do you want to go out with Kenma? Yaku?” 

It was Kuroo’s turn to flush. 

“Ack! No way!” 

“You can be best friends with someone and not like, in love with them!” Daichi insisted, still reeling. 

“So you really just don’t like Oikawa, is that it?” Kuroo asked suspiciously. 

“No one likes Oikawa!” Daichi felt his voice climbing higher by the minute, although he was glad it hadn’t turned into an interrogation about who Daichi actually wanted to go out with. That would have made things awkward. 

Kuroo blinked a few times before snorting. 

“You’re right, who likes that guy, anyway?” 

“Hopefully not Suga,” Daichi said darkly, feeling his blush subside. 

“Hopefully if Suga does, you manage to survive,” Kuroo said with a grin. 

+++ 

Later, Kuroo was at afternoon class and Yaku was at volleyball practice, so Suga and Daichi had some time to themselves. 

“I still can’t believe you said yes to Oikawa,” Daichi commented. 

“I agreed so you would go,” Suga said resolutely. 

“You agreed to go on a date with Oikawa so that I would go to a party?” Daichi asked quizzically. 

“It’s not a date!” Suga yelped, flushing. 

“What’s this?” Daichi was suddenly elated at Suga’s distress, despite his reservations about Oikawa. He could not have felt more smug. He crossed his arms over his chest, grinning in triumph. “Not a date, you say? Oh, how the tables have turned.” 

“The tables haven’t turned!” Suga said, looking indignant. “Oikawa’s fun to be around.” 

“Since when have you thought that?” Daichi raised an eyebrow suspiciously. 

“Since… since… ah,” Suga flushed and buried his face in his hands. “Fuck.” 

Daichi’s jaw dropped. 

“Something’s going on and you didn’t tell me?” Daichi poked Suga in the side. 

“You’ve been a bit distracted,” Suga said with a glare.

“Don’t make this about Kuroo,” Daichi gave Suga an equally severe glare. “How am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?” 

“Please, I knew about your crush on Kuroo before you did,” Suga shot back. 

“We actually spend time with him! We don’t see Oikawa hardly ever.” 

“You see him hardly ever. I on the other hand have two classes with him.” 

“He’s not elementary ed track though,” Daichi said. 

“They’re gen ed classes.” 

“You haven’t mentioned him at all.” 

“We’re lab partners in a science class and we have an English class together.” 

Daichi’s eyebrow raised. “Lab partners?” 

“We’ve been texting,” Suga added before covering his face with his hands. “It’s horrible.” 

“I agree,” Daichi said sternly. “It is horrible.” 

“Daichi!” Suga whined. “He’s not that bad.” 

“Not that bad? He’s our former rival. You’re both setters. He’s your setter rival.” 

“That could be said every bit as much about Kuroo,” Suga pointed out, face returning to a normal color. “You were both captains and we were literally rivals with them.” 

Daichi didn’t say anything. Suga certainly had a point. 

“Anyway,” Suga said forcefully. “As I was saying, I said yes so that you’d go.” 

“I don’t get it,” Daichi tilted his head to the side. “And I’m starting to think that there isn’t an ounce of truth in that.” 

“Daichi! You wound me. I’m always looking out for you. Listen, Kuroo always goes to Bokuto’s parties, and you never do! This is the perfect opportunity for you to let loose and, you know-” 

“Don’t say make out.” 

“And make out.” 

Daichi rolled his eyes, blush coloring his cheeks slightly. He was getting used to Suga making this suggestion constantly, so it didn’t embarrass him as much as it used to. 

“I knew you’d want to chaperone my date with Oikawa,” Suga rolled his eyes right back. “Or at least it’s a good cover story.” 

“As a matter of fact I do want to chaperone you. I won’t have time for Kuroo.” 

“You can trust me,” Suga said. 

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Daichi said darkly. 

“Oikawa is not that bad.” 

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” 

“I had to talk to Yaku about this,” Suga whined. “He was no help at all.” 

“You told Yaku before you told me?!” 

“Like I said, you’ve been distracted,” Suga paused. “So you’ll come?” 

Daichi sighed. “Yes, I’ll come to the party.” 

+++ 

A few days later, Kuroo was helping Bokuto get things in order for the party. People were starting to filter in, everyone looking still bright-eyed even after the first week at school. It would probably be a lively time, since homework hadn’t fully set in for most people yet. 

“Ohoho, bro, look who’s here!” Bokuto tilted his head in the direction of the door. 

Kuroo’s jaw almost dropped. 

“Sawamura?” 

“He didn’t tell you? Maybe he came to see you, bro,” Bokuto waggled an eyebrow. 

“No,” Kuroo said quietly, watching as Sugawara and Oikawa entered behind him. “He’s here chaperoning Suga. Look.” 

“Ohohoho? Sugawara’s here with Oikawa?” Bokuto said with obvious interest. “Now that’s unexpected.” 

“Is it?” Kuroo asked lightly. “They’re both devious.” 

“Dude! Sugawara? Devious?” 

“He is,” Kuroo insisted. “I just have this feeling about him. I haven’t even lived with him for two weeks and I already feel like he knows all my deepest secrets.” 

“Well, then he must know about your hopeless crush. Which means he probably wants you to tear Sawamura away from him,” Bokuto waggled his eyebrows. 

“Dude! There’s no way Suga approves of me!” Kuroo said. “Maybe if Sawamura liked me,” he frowned. 

Bokuto ran a hand through his hair. 

“Hopeless,” he said quietly. Kuroo glared at him. “Regardless, Sawamura shouldn’t be tagging along on their date. That’s bad manners. You should go rescue him from what a bad friend he’s being. Go on,” Bokuto shooed him in the direction of his roommates and Oikawa. 

Suga was the first to catch his eye. 

“I thought we’d see you here,” he said with a smile. “Daichi, look who it is.” 

“Oh,” Sawamura saw him, and Kuroo could swear his face lit up just a tiny bit. He tried not to hang onto it. 

“You didn’t say you’d be here,” Kuroo said. 

“Well, I couldn’t very well let the two of them go to a party unsupervised,” Daichi nodded his head in Oikawa and Suga’s direction. 

“We’ll be going now,” Suga said loudly, tugging Oikawa off in the direction of the drinks. 

“You gotta let it go, Sawamura,” Kuroo felt himself smile. The newfound discovery that Sawamura was not, in fact, interested in Suga made his heart do something funny. Besides that, Sawamura’s little look of exasperation and worry for Suga was absolutely adorable. 

“I do not have to let it go,” Sawamura pouted. “You’re preventing me from making sure disaster doesn’t strike!” 

“By disaster you mean love?” Kuroo waggled an eyebrow. 

“They are not in love,” Sawamura said flatly. 

“Not yet they aren’t,” Kuroo replied brightly. 

“What’s this? Is it the elusive Sawamura Daichi?” A voice unfamiliar to Kuroo trilled through the air. 

Sawamura looked around for the source of the voice. 

“Terushima?” He asked in surprise, face lighting up a little. Kuroo tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that stabbed his traitorous heart. 

“The one and only!” A blonde with an undercut appeared and swung an arm around Sawamura’s shoulders, squeezing him so their cheeks met. Kuroo couldn’t tell if Sawamura was comfortable with the closeness or not. 

Forget a pang of jealousy, it was like a whole ocean swept over Kuroo. He couldn’t help but frown. 

“Who’s this?” He growled. 

“Oh,” Sawamura wiggled out from the newcomer’s grasp. “This is Terushima Yuji. We played against each other at inter-high in high school.” Terushima stuck his tongue out and made a peace sign. Kuroo felt his heart sink. He had a tongue piercing. He didn’t know why this was so distressing to him, but it was. 

“Psh, you say that like it’s the only way we know each other!” 

“It is the only way we know each other?” Sawamura eyed Terushima questioningly. 

“Dude! We’re texting buddies too!” 

“Are we?” 

“Well, kind of,” Terushima laughed good-naturedly. “Mostly I text you and you don’t text me back.” 

“Sorry,” Sawamura grumbled. “It’s been a busy few weeks.” 

“You still owe me a drink.”

“I don’t remember ever agreeing to a drink,” Sawamura said with a raised eyebrow. 

Kuroo cleared his throat loudly, and Sawamura startled. 

“Oh, sorry, right, introductions. Terushima, this is my roommate Kuroo Tetsurou.” 

Terushima looked Kuroo up and down, appraising him. Eventually he stuck his hand out and Kuroo took it gingerly, shaking it awkwardly. 

“Nice to meet ya,” Terushima said. “You’re one lucky guy, getting this dude all to yourself. I’d kill for an arrangement like that.” 

Kuroo could see Sawamura flush in his periphery. He was starting to get the feel of the situation. Terushima obviously had a thing for Sawamura. What he couldn’t get a read on was how Sawamura felt about all of it. 

Feeling hot and irritated, Kuroo muttered something about needing to help Bokuto with something, and took off in search of someone familiar. 

To his surprise, someone caught his shoulder. He turned around only to be met with the questioning eyes of Terushima Yuji. 

“Um, hi,” Kuroo said awkwardly. “Where’d Sawamura go?” 

“He said he had to check on his friend,” Terushima said. “And I needed to ask you something.” 

“Oh?” 

“Are you hitting that or what?” 

Kuroo almost choked on his own spit. 

“What?” 

“Sawamura,” Terushima tilted his head in Sawamura’s direction. He was bickering with Suga, obviously wedging himself between Suga and Oikawa. Oikawa hardly even looked annoyed, all of his attention trained on Suga. If he hadn’t been involved in such an alarming conversation, Kuroo might have found the whole thing amusing. “Are you guys, you know, an item?” 

“No,” Kuroo tried to answer neutrally. “We’re just roommates.” 

Terushima exhaled loudly. 

“Excellent.” 

“But if you touch him,” Kuroo growled, unable to control himself. 

“What’s this?” Terushima raised an eyebrow. “You got an eye for Sawamura too?” 

Kuroo didn’t say anything, only glared. 

“You might just be the protective friend type,” Terushima shrugged, thinking over his options out loud, apparently not in the least bothered by Kuroo’s stare. “But I mean, look at him.” Terushima licked his lips. “It’d be understandable if-” 

“Can you make whatever point you’re trying to make?” Kuroo snapped. 

“No point,” Terushima sipped his drink lazily. “Just wondering if I can go for it. Sounds like I can.” 

“Don’t-” 

“Don’t what? Touch him? Flirt with him?” Terushima suddenly looked serious. “If you’ve got a thing for Sawamura, you should do something about it. It’s not my problem if you’re a chicken shit who can’t talk about his feelings.” 

Kuroo found himself towering over Terushima suddenly, anger flaring up in his chest. 

“Excuse me?” 

But Terushima didn’t look bothered in the least. 

“Man, you don’t scare me,” he said easily. “C’mon, let’s be pals. Whether you want to admit or not, your roommate’s quite fine. Can’t we appreciate that together?” 

Kuroo crossed his arms over his chest. 

Terushima held Kuroo’s gaze for a moment before shrugging. “Suit yourself. Let it not be said that I didn’t try to get along. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he turned and headed in Sawamura’s direction. “Unless you’re going to do something about it, I have someone’s attention to get.” 

With his head held high, Terushima walked right over to Sawamura and plucked him from between his two friends, and it looked like he was chiding him gently for interfering with their date. Terushima pulled Sawamura towards the table with the drinks, and soon they were both settled on Bokuto’s couch, sitting much too close together for Kuroo’s liking. 

Kuroo thought his blood might boil. He decided the only thing he could do was consult Kenma. 

[To: Kenma]  
_I’m doomed_

[From: Kenma]  
_What happened this time?_

[To: Kenma]  
_I have… competition_

[From: Kenma]  
_You know you just need to say something to Sawamura, right?_

Kuroo decided to ignore this. 

[To: Kenma]  
_This dick Terushima is ALL over him. Apparently they played against each other in high school_

[From: Kenma]  
_Maybe this will help you realize the urgency of the situation_

[To: Kenma]  
_You’re right, the obvious solution is definitely to drown myself in all the alcohol at this stupid party_

[From: Kenma]  
_Maybe the alcohol will loosen your tongue a little  
Just don’t get alcohol poisoning_

Kuroo blinked at his phone screen, wondering if he should be concerned that Kenma was not trying to stop him. He only thought about it for a few seconds before pocketing his phone and going to find Bokuto, who would certainly have some sort of alcoholic remedy for Kuroo’s love troubles. 

+++ 

There were a few reasons Daichi always “forgot” to text Terushima back. It was much harder to ignore him in real life, however. Terushima had his arm draped around Daichi’s shoulders in a much friendlier-than-friends gesture, but Daichi couldn’t bring himself to tell him to stop. Daichi didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and, if he was being honest, a tiny part of him felt a little good to feel so… desired by someone. He kept glancing around for Kuroo, though, because he really didn’t want Kuroo to think anything was going on between him and Terushima. 

They’d been talking about school, Daichi’s job, and other random things. Daichi hadn’t been paying attention to the time, but they’d probably been sitting there for a while. He tuned back in to his conversation with Terushima just in time to hear something shocking. 

“I mean, an upstanding guy like you has probably never considered a friends-with-benefits situation, yeah?” 

Daichi spit out his drink, feeling his cheeks grow hot as his gaze zoomed back to Terushima. 

“A what?” 

Terushima shrugged, squeezing Daichi around the shoulders. 

“I’m offering you a mutually beneficial arrangement.” 

Daichi shrugged Terushima’s arm off. 

“You’re right about me never considering something like that,” he said a little sternly. 

Terushima only smiled wider. “No time like the present, Sawamura-san! You have so much life to live!” 

“Daichi?” Suga interjected gently. 

Daichi felt relief course through him. He was definitely ready to be out of this conversation with Terushima. The flirting was one thing - but a blatant offer like that? Daichi didn’t know what to do with that kind of thing. 

“Yeah?” 

“You might go help Bokuto,” Suga pointed in the direction of the kitchen, where Bokuto was clearly trying to pull a beverage out of Kuroo’s hand. 

“Oh Jesus,” Daichi said. “Sorry,” he looked at Terushima apologetically. “I should go retrieve him.” 

Terushima grinned good-naturedly. “Don’t worry about it. Just remember… I’m always here for ya, Sawamura.” He winked. Daichi nodded awkwardly before turning back to Suga. They both headed in Kuroo’s direction. 

“Thanks,” he said quietly to Suga. 

“You could thank me by leaving me and my date alone,” Suga said with an eye roll. “I mean, you’ve got Kuroo to manage.” 

Daichi heard a glass shatter, and winced as he glanced up to see Kuroo apologizing profusely to everyone around him. 

“Someone’s got to keep him from being stupid,” he said with a shrug. 

Suga gave him a knowing look before shoving him towards the kitchen. 

“Go be a knight in shining armor. It’s your destiny.” 

“Shut up,” Daichi grumbled before walking towards the kitchen. 

Daichi tried to look disapproving as he came up to Bokuto and Kuroo. 

“Sa’amuraaaaa,” Kuroo whined, clearly forgetting the mess he had just made and throwing his arms around Daichi. “You’re here! This is great!” 

“You’ve had too much to drink,” Daichi said sternly. “I didn’t even leave you alone for that long.” 

“Sa’amuraaaaa,” Kuroo repeated. 

“What is it?” Daichi asked placatingly, gently trying to push Kuroo off of him to no avail. 

“‘m tired,” Kuroo said. “An’ cold. You’re so waaaaaaarm.” 

“You should take him home,” Bokuto spoke up, grinning. 

“Excuse me?” Daichi choked a little. 

Bokuto tilted his head to the side innocently. “Like, your home? You guys live in the same place, right?” 

“Oh,” Daichi said dumbly. Of course that’s what he meant. “Yeah, we do.” 

“Listen, Kuroo doesn’t usually get so crazy at these things,” Bokuto said. “So I don’t mean to pawn him off on you, but you are his roommate after all.” 

“I’ll see him home,” Daichi said, smiling a little at Bokuto. 

“Good,” Bokuto looked relieved.

“Can I help you clean that up first?” Daichi pointed to the spilled drink on the ground. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Bokuto waved a hand. “I got it.” 

“If you’re sure,” Daichi said gratefully, turning back to Kuroo. “C’mon,” Daichi said, realizing he was going to lose this battle of having Kuroo’s arms around him. He supposed he didn’t really mind, even if it didn’t mean anything. “Let’s get you home.” 

“But the party just started!” Kuroo said before hiccupping. 

“We’ve been here for a few hours,” Daichi rolled his eyes. “And you said you were tired.” 

“Could sleep in Bo’s bed,” Kuroo muttered. “Done it before.” 

Daichi couldn’t help it, but a surge of jealousy shot through him. 

“No, we can’t have that,” he said with a little more venom than was probably necessary. 

“Why not? I’m tired right now,” Kuroo whined. 

“You can fall asleep in the car.” 

“My bed’s not as comfy as Bo’s. Jus’ feels like sleeping on the ground.” 

“Then you can sleep in mine,” the words were out of Daichi’s mouth before he could think about them. 

“Ohohoho, Sawamura,” Kuroo elbowed Daichi. “Whatcha sayin’?” 

“And I’ll sleep in yours, you dimwit,” Daichi sighed in exasperation, trying not to latch onto Kuroo’s implication. He led Kuroo through Bokuto’s house and out the door, barely managing to catch Terushima’s eye and nod curtly at him before they exited.

_Friends with benefits, seriously?_

“Don’t like your friend,” Kuroo said, suddenly sounding irritated.

“Which friend?” Daichi asked as he led Kuroo to his car, although he had an idea who Kuroo was talking about. 

“Ter...shima?” 

“Terushima?” 

Kuroo nodded as Daichi opened the passenger door and deposited Kuroo in the seat. 

“He’s a little much,” Daichi nodded in agreement. “But he’s not that bad.” 

“He’s totally into you,” Kuroo was saying as Daichi opened the drivers’ side door and got in the car, starting it. 

“Maybe so,” Daichi said lightly. He was more convinced now. 

“Daichi?” Kuroo said quietly. 

Daichi felt like he’d been shocked. He’d never heard Kuroo say his first name before. He felt like his heart had jumped right into his throat. 

“Yeah?” He said, throat dry as he put the car into reverse and started to drive them home. 

“Mmm,” Kuroo hummed. “Nothin’.” 

“Okay,” Daichi said gently. 

Kuroo started to babble a little nonsensically, and Daichi smiled a little as he listened to Kuroo go on and on about Kenma never supporting him properly, which he wasn’t totally sure what to make of, but he was content to sit in silence and let Kuroo’s tipsy words wash over him as he drove the surprisingly quiet streets back to their apartment. 

When they got back, Daichi opened the door for Kuroo and swung Kuroo’s arm over his shoulder. 

“Warm,” Kuroo said contentedly. 

“Why are you always so cold?” Daichi said reproachfully. 

“Dunno,” Kuroo said, dragging his feet a little as they made their way into the apartment. 

“Go put on pajamas,” Daichi commanded as they walked towards their room. “Think you can manage that?” 

Kuroo giggled. “What if I can’t manage?” He waggled his eyebrows. Daichi felt his face flush and reminded himself that Kuroo was drunk and wasn’t saying anything he meant or anything that made sense. 

“I don’t know what we’ll do then,” he sighed. “At least go try,” he pushed Kuroo in the direction of their bedroom. “I’ll get you some water. Did you eat dinner at least?” 

“Yep!” Kuroo saluted clumsily before opening the door to their bedroom and closing it behind him. 

Daichi exhaled, walking over to the cabinets and acquiring a couple of glasses and pouring some cold water into them. He arranged some snacks on a plate - even if Kuroo wasn’t hungry, Daichi was, and Kuroo would probably have some if Daichi did, which would be good for his impending hangover. 

He knocked gingerly on their bedroom door, balancing the glasses and the plate of snacks. 

“Can I come in?” 

An affirmative grunt was all Kuroo could manage, apparently, and when Daichi opened the door he saw Kuroo glancing nervously between their two beds. 

“What’s wrong?” Daichi asked. 

“Dunno where to sleep. Didn’t you say…” 

“I said you can sleep in my bed. And tomorrow we’re going to go find you a proper bed frame,” Daichi chided as he handed the glass of water to Kuroo, who looked incredibly sleepy. 

“I made snacks, too,” Daichi held out the plate. Kuroo took a few crackers and some cheese off of it before sitting down lightly on Daichi’s bed. 

“Comfy,” Kuroo said happily. 

“Drink all that water before you lay down,” Daichi said firmly as he grabbed his own pajamas and headed for the bathroom to change. 

By the time he got back, he saw the glass of water was empty, and Kuroo was under his blankets, not quite snoring yet, but definitely looking like he was almost asleep. Before he knew what he was doing, Daichi was running his fingers through Kuroo’s hair, gently massaging his scalp. Kuroo hummed and leaned into Daichi’s touch. 

“Sa’amura,” he whispered, opening his eyes a tiny bit. 

“Yeah?” Daichi replied quietly. Without thinking, he let his hand slide down from Kuroo’s hair so he could cup his cheek. _What are you doing?_ Some rational part of his brain screamed at him. But the touch of Kuroo’s cheek against his palm was too enticing for Daichi to listen to that part of his brain. 

“You’re the best,” Kuroo said before closing his eyes and relaxing against Daichi’s pillows. 

Butterflies exploded in Daichi’s stomach even as he released Kuroo’s face, and he worked very hard to squash them down. He _had_ been very nice this evening, so of course Kuroo would say that. 

Daichi climbed into Kuroo’s bed, groaning as he could practically feel the ground underneath him and deciding that, yes, tomorrow, they were definitely going to get Kuroo a proper bed.


	4. It's Rather Hopeless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday is for bed shopping and overthinking relationships.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ft. kenma  
> ft. insecure suga   
> ft. lots of stupid flirting

Daichi hadn’t really thought over the whole idea of going to buy a bed with Kuroo before doing it. If he had, he might have considered the awkward situations that would arise as they shopped. 

“So, you’re looking for at least a full, I’m assuming?” The clerk looked between Kuroo and Daichi meaningfully. 

Daichi felt his head tilt to the side in confusion. 

“Ah,” Kuroo understood the clerk’s implication more quickly than Daichi did. “No,” he said, shifting back and forth on his feet. “Just a twin.” Daichi suddenly understood and felt himself flush. No, they weren’t shopping for a bed for the two of them, though the thought of sharing a bed with Kuroo was enough to send Daichi into a tailspin. He cleared his throat awkwardly, grateful when neither the clerk nor Kuroo looked at him. 

“My mistake,” the clerk said apologetically. “You’re in luck, we just got some twins in yesterday. They’re used.” 

“Probably makes them closer to my price range,” Kuroo said with a relieved smile. 

“If you’ll come with me, you can have a look,” the clerk came out from behind the counter and walked them to the back corner of the furniture store. 

“This is where we keep the pre-owned pieces,” he said as though explaining why everything looked so, well, old. 

“Mind if I feel them out?” Kuroo pointed at the two twin sized beds that looked, admittedly, better than most of the pre-owned furniture did. 

“Not at all,” the clerk said, inclining his head slightly. “I’ll leave you to it. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.” 

As soon as the clerk left to head for the front desk, Kuroo flopped down on one of the beds dramatically. 

“Sawamura, you’ve gotta give this a try,” Kuroo said. “It’s amazing.” 

“Anything has to be better than what you’ve got,” Daichi said with a quirked eyebrow. 

“Come ooooon,” Kuroo patted space next to him on the mattress. It was not a large space. 

Daichi sighed, trying to look annoyed, although his heart was beating a little faster. 

“Fine,” he said, plopping down next to Kuroo, shoulders and legs brushing way too much for Daichi’s blood pressure to handle. 

_Warm._

That was his first thought. 

“So what do you think?” 

“It’s g-great,” Daichi managed, trying not to show on his face all the million things he felt about the current situation. Being squashed next to Kuroo in a twin-sized bed at a furniture store wasn’t exactly how he ever envisioned being in bed with Kuroo, but Daichi would certainly take what he could get. 

“Like you said,” Kuroo sat up, taking his warmth with him. Daichi missed the contact immediately. “It’s definitely better than what I’ve got.” 

“You should try out the other one,” Daichi said after clearing his throat, sitting up. Their shoulders weren’t touching anymore, but their knees were knocking, and it was incredibly distracting. 

“Hmm, I suppose I should.” 

He got up and plopped down just as dramatically on the second bed. 

“Hmm,” Kuroo hummed thoughtfully. “A little firmer. Still much better than the cardboard box I call a bed that I have right now.” 

Daichi snorted. “Your words, not mine.” 

“Well, come on,” Kuroo motioned for Daichi to join him again. “I need your opinion on this one too.” 

“It’s your bed,” Daichi rolled his eyes but, of course, obliged, squishing himself in next to Kuroo. 

Someone cleared their throat and they jumped up at the same time, stepping quickly away from each other. The clerk had returned and was wearing an amused expression. 

“Like I said,” he said drily. “We have some nice fulls and queens.” 

“I’ll take this one!” Kuroo blurted out loudly, pointing to the second one they’d tried. 

The clerk raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. 

“Do you want it delivered or do you have a vehicle that can transport it?” 

Kuroo looked at Daichi questioningly. Evidently he had not thought this part through. 

“It’ll fit,” Daichi said confidently, although he actually wasn’t so sure if it would or not. 

“Suit yourselves,” said the clerk. “I’ll have someone bring it out front and we can load it into your vehicle.” 

Kuroo paid and they started towards the front door. 

“And when you two are in need of something bigger,” the clerk said, looking cheeky. “Keep us in mind.” 

Daichi flushed crimson, nearly snapped at him to mind his own business, but Kuroo spoke first. 

“Of course,” he said easily, stealing a glance over at Daichi who looked away quickly, hoping to hide his blush. “Well, come on,” he took Daichi’s wrist and pulled him towards the door. Daichi thought his head might just explode. 

The bed fit in his hatchback, barely. They had to scoot their seats up as close to the front as they could get. Kuroo looked ridiculous, his long legs squashed nearly up to his face. 

“We should’ve had it delivered,” he grumbled as they drove back to the apartment. 

“But it fits,” Daichi replied, smirking. “Not sure you do though.” 

“It’s not my fault I’m the tall, dark, and handsome type,” Kuroo shot back with a smirk of his own. 

“Tall maybe,” Daichi said, clearing his throat. 

“Oh? Sawamura doesn’t think I’m handsome?” 

“Never mind,” Daichi said, trying for an exasperated tone. “Let’s just get this over with.” He pulled into his parking spot. Blessedly, the furniture store wasn’t that far from their place. He was determined to exit this conversation as quickly as humanly possible. 

“But Sa’amura,” Kuroo wagged an eyebrow. “We’re married now. Don’t you think your husband’s good-looking?” 

“Don’t tell me you’re on about Suga’s dumb joke,” Daichi grumbled, looking pointedly away from Kuroo. 

“I’m just saying it wouldn’t kill you to compliment your husband,” Kuroo said effortlessly, opening the passenger’s side door and squeezing himself out of the car. 

Daichi didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply shut the driver’s side door loudly and walked to the back of the car. 

“Okay, husband,” he finally said, aware that his voice was probably an octave higher than normal. “Get your bed out of my car.” 

+++ 

“You went bed shopping,” Kenma said without inflection. Kuroo couldn’t tell if it was a question or not, so he didn’t reply. Kenma continued, “You shopped for a bed with Sawamura.” 

Ah, so it was a question. 

“Yeah,” Kuroo said quietly. “But not like, _with_ Sawamura, ya know?” 

Kenma rolled his eyes. They had Saturday off of practice so he had offered to come across town to visit Kuroo and see his new place. It was turning into an interrogation about Sawamura, which Kuroo did not appreciate at all. 

“It’s not like I had high hopes, but I thought maybe it would put you into an awkward enough bind that you’d just spit it out.” 

“Well it certainly was a bit awkward,” Kuroo said. “I don’t know why I agreed to it in the first place.” 

“When do you not agree to do anything with Sawamura?” Kenma asked without looking up from his game. 

Kuroo only grunted in response. Kenma shrugged, sighing. “So tell me about this competition you supposedly have.” 

Kuroo felt the jealousy surge through him again as he thought about the party. 

“Terushima,” he said darkly. “I think that’s his name.” When Kenma didn’t say anything, he went on. “He’s blonde, he’s got this undercut, and a tongue piercing and the worst part is how familiar he acts with Sawamura. Like they’re best buds or something.” 

“Does Sawamura seem to like him?” 

“I don’t know!” Kuroo yelped. “I… I mean, he didn’t push him away or anything.” Kuroo heaved a sigh. “Maybe I should just give it up.” 

“Maybe Sawamura enjoyed a little attention, seeing as you won’t give him the attention he obviously wants.” 

“Sawamura does not want attention from me.” 

Kenma shrugged, flicking his eyes up from his game for a fraction of a second. 

“You’re right. You’re doomed,” Kenma said with the kind of defeat in his voice only reserved for the hardest of video game levels. 

“I thought you were supposed to make me feel better,” Kuroo groaned. 

“I can’t do anything if you won’t cooperate.” 

“There’s nothing to cooperate on!” Kuroo shrieked, and nearly fell off his new bed when the door to his bedroom opened. 

“Kuroo? Uncooperative?” Sawamura’s amused voice filled the room. Kuroo’s heart thudded into overdrive as he stepped in, an amused smile playing on his lips, hands on his hips. Surely he couldn’t have heard. “I don’t know what you were expecting, Kenma. What do you need him to do? Maybe I can persuade him.” 

Kuroo released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Sawamura hadn’t heard the rest of their conversation, although he tensed up as Kenma paused his video game. He didn’t think Kenma would give him away, but if pushed too far, who knows what kind of strategy Kenma would take on? 

But to Kuroo’s relief, Kenma waved a hand. 

“It’s nothing,” he said, pocketing his game. “Or at least, it’s rather hopeless.” Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Nice to see you, Sawamura.” 

“You too. Nice to have a visitor.” 

“It’s a nice apartment, even if Kuro lives here.” 

“Hey!” Kuroo jumped in. 

“It is nice. The rest of us make up for Kuroo, I promise,” Sawamura’s amused smile was still playing on his lips. Kuroo tried not to think about how easy it would be to kiss that smile right off of him. As it was, he tried to look offended. 

“I don’t know why I’m the weak link here.” 

“Sugawara’s going to be an excellent teacher someday,” Kenma started, counting on his fingers. “Sawamura is, well, Sawamura,” he inclined his head. Sawamura nodded back, apparently pleased with Kenma’s opinion. “Yaku is on the volleyball team. What do you mean you don’t understand why you’re the weakest link?” 

Kuroo gaped at Kenma. 

“I thought you were my best friend,” he sniffed, glancing briefly at Sawamura who looked thoroughly entertained. 

“Which means I have an accurate appraisal of your personality and abilities compared to the other residents of this apartment,” Kenma said without emotion. 

“Most best friends would be a little, you know,” Kuroo gesticulated vaguely with his hands. “Nicer.” 

“You make it hard.” 

Sawamura bent over, laughing. 

“Kenma, you’re killing me,” he said through his laughter. 

Kenma gave Sawamura a wry smile. 

“Are you staying for dinner? It’s our house dinner night,” Sawamura said after his laughter had subsided. 

“Family dinner night,” Kuroo corrected. 

Sawamura rolled his eyes. “Family dinner night. I stand corrected.” 

“I told my parents I’d be home for dinner, so I’m not staying,” Kenma said, glancing at his phone to check the time. “I ought to be going so I can catch the subway. Maybe next time though.” 

“Come on,” Sawamura said. “I’ll walk you out.” 

“How thoughtful,” Kenma said, glancing at Kuroo. “You’re never this polite.” 

Kuroo continued gaping at his traitor of a best friend. 

“The way you’re treating me, you don’t deserve politeness,” he finally said, turning his nose up. 

Kenma shrugged. “I’ll miss you too.” Then he turned and left the room, followed by Sawamura. 

+++

As Daichi walked Kenma to the front door, it opened just as he was about to let Kenma out. 

He was assaulted with a gleaming smile from none other than Oikawa Tooru, who waltzed inside the apartment like he’d done it a thousand times before. Daichi felt himself frown. 

“Dai-chan! And… let’s see. I recognize you.” 

“I don’t know why you recognize me. Kozume Kenma,” Kenma said neutrally as Oikawa looked him up and down. “Nekoma High School. Friend of Kuro,” he jutted his thumb back in the direction of Kuroo and Daichi’s room.

“Ah, of course, a little Neko-chan friend,” Oikawa trilled. Daichi thought he saw something in Kenma’s forehead twitch. 

“I was just leaving,” Kenma said, moving past Oikawa through the door. 

“See you, Kozume-chan!” Oikawa waved enthusiastically even though Kenma wasn’t looking at him. 

“Oikawa,” Daichi said levelly. “What are you doing here?” 

“I came for dinner of course! I heard your Kuro-chan is quite the master in the kitchen.” 

Daichi felt his ears go red as he glanced around to see if Kuroo was within hearing range. 

“He’s still in your room, don’t fret,” Oikawa said lightly, waving a hand. 

“Well he’s not my anything,” Daichi snapped, annoyed. “But he is a good cook.” 

“Oh?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “Kou-chan said-” 

Suga materialized beside Oikawa and clamped a hand firmly over his mouth, smiling at Daichi apologetically. Daichi hadn’t even noticed him come through the door, Oikawa’s shit-eating grin had been so distracting. 

“You told him?!” Daichi said, dropping his voice low. 

“Dai-chan, don’t you worry. I’m the best secret keeper there is!” 

“Don’t call me that,” Daichi growled. Oikawa just smiled at him. 

“Sawa-chan, then?” 

Daichi groaned loudly, put his head in his hands, and turned around to head back to his room. He opened the door and poked his head in, looking for any sign that Kuroo had heard any of Oikawa’s nonsense. It didn’t appear so, Kuroo was just rummaging around, haphazardly organizing his clothes. Daichi left the door open and came into their room. 

“Did you decide what we’re making for dinner?” 

“How come I’m supposed to decide?” Kuroo whined. 

Daichi put his hands on his hips, smirking just a tiny bit. “We put it on the calendar. Everyone’s in charge once a month. You volunteered to go first.” 

“What was I thinking?” Kuroo grumbled. He stood up and squared his shoulders. “Let’s go see what’s in the fridge, I guess.” 

“You could make sirloin and noodles again,” Daichi said in an attempt to be helpful. “I know we have some and it’s always good when you make it.” 

“Aw, Sawamura likes my cooking,” Kuroo grinned at Daichi, reaching out to pinch his cheek. Daichi blushed at the contact and quickly wriggled out of Kuroo’s grasp, willing his face back to a color that didn’t resemble a strawberry. 

“Of course I do,” Daichi said as they walked out of their room together. “I wouldn’t eat it every week if I didn’t.” 

“You two bicker like an old married couple,” Oikawa said, looking triumphant. 

“We do not!” Kuroo and Daichi said in unison. Oikawa burst out laughing. 

“I rest my case.” 

“Now, now,” Suga said placatingly. 

“Kuroo,” Yaku called from the kitchen. “Come give me instructions. I said I’d help but you’re the one who volunteered to be in charge.” 

Kuroo sighed. “Coming, coming.” 

Dinner turned out, as Daichi expected, quite well. Kuroo made do with what they had in their fridge and managed to make something quite good out of it, including a miso soup and some excellent fried rice from some leftovers he had from the previous night. 

Oikawa was even fairly pleasant at dinner. He was on the volleyball team with Yaku, so they had an instant connection. Having all played, the five of them talked strategy for Oikawa and Yaku’s upcoming game, the first one of the season, and Daichi found himself softening to Oikawa, until dinner was over. 

“He really is quite good,” Oikawa said pointedly to Daichi as they started to pick up, inclining his head in Kuroo’s direction. Kuroo was in the kitchen spooning leftovers into a container. Daichi’s soft spot that had slowly been developing for the setter quickly evaporated. 

“I told you he’s a good cook,” Daichi replied in an annoyed tone, trying not to give anything away. He was definitely going to have to chew Suga out later. 

Oikawa only hummed in response, taking his dishes to the sink. Daichi was glad that seemed to be the end of it for now. 

Oikawa and Suga took over the living room with their homework, working on some group project for one of their classes together. Kuroo had looked horrified. (“Homework? On a Saturday night?”) Daichi spent the evening doing his laundry and organizing his notes for the week ahead. Kuroo had seemed even more offended by this. (“Not you too, Sawamura!”) But eventually, Oikawa took his leave and the normal apartment residents started settling in for the night. Daichi was sitting on his bed flipping through his phone when he decided it was finally an appropriate time to chastise Suga. 

[To: Suga]  
 _First you’re dating Oikawa, and now you’re telling him about my problems??_

[From: Suga]  
 _We are NOT dating_

[To: Suga]  
 _Please, spare me_

[From: Suga]  
 _Why are you texting me? We live in the same apartment. I’m literally right in the living room_

[To: Suga]  
 _This is a sensitive subject! I can’t exactly talk about it openly_

A knock on the bedroom door startled Daichi. 

“Yeah?” Kuroo answered when Daichi didn’t. 

“Can I come in?” Suga asked politely. 

“Of course,” Daichi answered this time. The door swung open, revealing a bright-eyed Suga. 

“Daichi, take me to the store.” 

Daichi raised an eyebrow. “It’s 10pm.” 

“I need ice cream.” 

Daichi got up from his desk, sighing. He grabbed his coat. 

“Let’s go,” he nodded at Suga before looking back at Kuroo and waving. “Be back in a bit.” 

Kuroo waved back. “Have fun.” 

Yaku was yawning on the couch as they headed out. “See you, Yakkun!” Suga called. Yaku rolled his eyes but waved. As soon as they were out the door, Daichi whirled on Suga. 

“How dare you-” 

“Shh!” Suga put a finger to Daichi’s lips. “Let’s at least get in the car.” 

Daichi huffed. “Fine.” 

As soon as the car door shut behind him, Daichi began again. 

“I can’t believe you told Oikawa!” 

“Are we going or not?” Suga said, unaffected. 

“What?” 

“I actually do want ice cream.” 

“Okay, let’s go,” Daichi put the car in reverse, glaring. “But we’re not done talking about this.” 

“We can talk about it,” Suga said pleasantly. 

“Let’s start with Oikawa,” Daichi said, feeling himself soften just a little bit. “You guys aren’t dating?” 

Daichi saw Suga flush in his periphery. 

“I’m not sure,” he said after a pause. “I mean, we haven’t put a label on it or anything.” 

“But you brought him to family dinner. And you spent all night at the party with him.” 

“I know but…” 

Daichi eyed his best friend before putting his eyes back on the road. 

“But?” 

“You know, Daichi,” Suga said with a sigh. “I always thought your whole complex about thinking you’re not cool enough for Kuroo was really dumb.” 

“Don’t change the subject!” 

“I’m not,” Suga sighed again. “I used to think you were being ridiculous. I mean, you are, because you’re obviously super great and absolutely not boring or drab or plain or all those things you think you are when it comes to Kuroo.” 

Daichi bit his lip, but didn’t say anything. 

“But I think I get it now,” Suga said, looking at Daichi meaningfully. 

Daichi’s eyes widened as he understood. 

“You think you’re not good enough for Oikawa?” He heard himself chuckle. “You’re kidding, right?” 

“Don’t laugh at me!” Suga said indignantly. “He’s on the volleyball team, I didn’t even start my third year in high school, he’s got a big, bright future and I’m just going to be a silly elementary school teacher-” 

“Suga,” Daichi interjected. 

“And have you seen Iwaizumi? They still hang out all the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was something there-” 

“Suga,” Daichi said, more firmly this time as they pulled into the parking lot of the nearest gas station. 

Suga stopped and blinked at Daichi. “Yeah?” 

Daichi smiled at him softly. 

“Now who’s being ridiculous?” 

Suga glanced down at his hands, not saying anything, and Daichi reached out to squeeze his shoulder. 

“Let’s go get you that ice cream,” he said gently. He hadn’t considered Suga’s feelings at all. He felt a small twinge of regret that he’d been so unkind about Suga’s potential relationship with Oikawa. 

“I guess he isn’t that bad,” Daichi said as Suga picked out two separate pints of ice cream. “I’m sorry for not being more supportive earlier. You really are stressed about this, aren’t you?” He motioned to both pints of ice cream. 

Suga stuck out his tongue. “I’m allowed to cope however I want! At least I’m doing something about my feelings.” 

Ouch, that stung. 

“Finally, you found a way to bring Kuroo into this,” Daichi rolled his eyes again. 

“I need an update.” 

“There’s no update to give,” Daichi said as they got in line. “Except that I’m continuing to die a slow, painful death of heart failure.” 

It was Suga’s turn to roll his eyes. 

“Do you not see the way he looks at you?” 

“He doesn’t look at me any special way,” Daichi countered with a frown. “And your stupid joke is going to be the death of me. He keeps going on about being my husband and it’s awful.”

Suga frowned deeply, looking excessively annoyed. They arrived at the front of the line. 

“Daichi, do you realize how stupid you sound?” 

“Just pay for your ice cream,” Daichi replied flatly. “We have a rivalry. He’d do anything to get under my skin.” 

“Uh huh,” Suga dug around in his wallet for cash, handing it over to the cashier. “You can tell yourself that for as long as you want. But the sexual tension in the apartment is going to drown me.” 

“There is no sexual tension!” 

The cashier cleared her throat and Suga turned back to see she had his change. 

“Oh, thank you.” 

She nodded curtly and handed Suga his ice cream. 

“You’re hopeless,” Suga said as they got back in the car. 

“It’s hopeless,” Daichi corrected him. “If Kuroo was interested, he’d have done something by now. It’s just our usual banter.” 

Suga groaned. 

“You know, you’re such a moron that I don’t even feel depressed about Oikawa anymore. I have to be doing better than you are.” 

“That’s not very nice.” 

“And yet, somehow it’s true.” 

+++

Sawamura and Suga weren’t out for long. They must have gone to the gas station close to the apartment. 

“You’re back,” Kuroo said as Sawamura entered their room. 

“Yeah,” Sawamura said. “He bought two pints. _Two._ ” 

“Is there a problem with that?” 

“Buying two pints of ice cream seems normal to you?” 

“Well, sure,” Kuroo said amiably. “What if you can’t choose between two flavors?” 

Sawamura’s rumbling laugh sent Kuroo’s heart into overdrive. 

“I guess you’re right. Is the bed treating you okay?”

“Mm, I guess so.” 

“So it’s comfortable?” 

_You should come over here and see for yourself._

Kuroo bit back his flirty response, horrified at how quickly it materialized in his brain. 

“Yeah,” he said instead. “Real comfortable.” 

“Good,” Sawamura said. “The setup you had before was not comfortable at all.” 

“Oh,” Kuroo recalled how he’d woken up, a little bit hungover, in Sawamura’s bed that morning. It was a shock to the system before he had glanced over and saw Sawamura snoring on Kuroo’s mattress laid on the ground across the room. “Sorry about last night,” Kuroo added. “Hope I didn’t do anything too embarrassing.” 

Sawamura waved a hand, although he went a tiny bit pink. Kuroo froze, wondering if he’d done something to give himself away. 

“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t. I don’t think you ever would have decided to replace that old thing on your own, and it was a nightmare. So I’m glad.” 

“You’re a good roommate,” Kuroo said, the words barely catching in his throat. 

Sawamura gave Kuroo a rare, soft smile as he pulled his pajamas out of his dresser. Kuroo thought he might have collapsed if he wasn’t already laying down. 

“Geez,” Sawamura said, walking towards the door. Unlike Kuroo, he didn’t seem comfortable changing in the bedroom, in front of Kuroo. (Which was really quite a shame.) “What’s gotten into you?” 

“Dunno,” Kuroo said quietly, maybe a little too honest. 

Sawamura looked at him as though he had something to say, but seemed to think better of it as he put his hand on the door and opened it to head to the bathroom. As soon as the door shut behind him, Kuroo buried his head under a pillow. He thought briefly that screaming might make him feel better, but he didn’t want to cause undue alarm, especially to Sawamura. 

He thought about that morning, how he’d convinced Sawamura to lay on the stupid new bed with him, and now he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. It didn’t matter that they had been squished together, in fact, that was all the better. Sawamura saturated every part of Kuroo’s life these days, and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.


End file.
